Busy Mama's Plant-Based Eats

Hi there!

This is how I started my day.  Chocolate chia seed pudding (almond milk + chia seeds + splash of maple syrup + dark chocolate cocoa powder - made last night) and then added the toppings this morning.  It was nice to have something different for breakfast.

We really stocked up our refrigerator and cupboards this weekend.  My husband cleaned out our freezer getting rid of anything that had been in there for months unused just taking up space.  It's a great feeling starting fresh!  We hit up both Wegmans and Trader Joe's (and still managed to come home without Vegenaise, bah!).  How are we supposed to make the Tempeh BLTs without the Vegenaise?!  Must return to the store.

I'm a busy mama as mamas are.  I work full-time and when I get home at night I want a simple nutritious meal and just to spend time with my hubby, baby and pups.  I need good food to keep me fueled during the day too, of course.  Sage still isn't sleeping through the night, so if I get a 4 or 5 hour stretch that's incredible.  I rely on plant-based foods to keep me strong and energized.  

Here's what I'll be eating this week:

I try to start most days with a protein shake.  Right now I have Sun Warrior chocolate protein powder (not my fav, Vegan Smart is the best!).  I mix protein powder with almond milk, PB or almond butter, banana, chia seeds, spinach or kale, and ice and then drink it on the way to work.  Great way to get some happy calories and start the day.

I'm excited about these yogurts I found for snacking and toast makes an appearance many days as another morning snack.  My favorite toast toppings are avocado, PB, almond butter or Tofutti (vegan amazing cream cheese).

I've been trying to have salads for lunch.  It's the easiest way to get in veggies.  I'll be bringing this salad a bunch this week.  Kale + carrots + mushrooms + avocado + sesame seeds + ginger sesame dressing.  I also keep a bag of dried cranberries, hemp seeds and almonds in my desk at work to throw into my salads.  Got to load it up with the goods otherwise salad is no fun.

I have ice cream every night.  Or almost ever night.  I recently found this kind at TJ's and it is incredible.  

I've got plans to make sesame tofu tonight with kale, sweet potato, and brown rice.  We generally don't cook a tofu dish like this during the week because we want something a bit quicker after the workday.  Other weeknight meals include butternut squash ravioli mixed with kale and topped with marinara, those Tempeh BLTs, Amy's pizza, and possibly a peanut noodle stir fry.

Today is spring cleaning around here.  Sage is practically crawling and I have this strong desire for him not to be crawling through puffs of dog fur.  On that note, let the cleaning begin!

What's a simple go-to meal of yours?

What I Eat as a Plant-Based Eater, Full-Time Working, Nursing Mama

Hey hey hey!

I titled this post with all those descriptions because all of them greatly influence my eats.  I stick to whole foods and I don't eat meat or dairy generally (except for the occasional slip up with dairy).  I work full-time so it requires some planning ahead to make sure I have the proper foods (and enough food!) for when I'm at work.  Lastly, I'm still nursing (pumping while at work) for my 5 1/2 month old baby boy, so that makes me a hungry beast.  

I'm sharing typical workdays as weekend food varies more.  Also, I do not count calories.  I believe in the quality of the food (organic as much as possible) and eat when I'm hungry, even if that means every two hours.  That all being said, here's what I eat...or ate ;)

Breakfasts:
  
I have a shake everyday.  Well, every workday.  On the weekend when I have more time, I tend to have pancakes bright and early, and then sometimes a shake mid morning. 

My favorite shake lately is a Peanut Butter Shake (that I share half with my husband):  2 cups vanilla almond milk + banana + 2 tbsp. PB + 2 scoops of Vegan Smart Protein Powder (vanilla flavored) + ice (sometimes I add 2 tbsp. of chia seeds)

Shakes are perfect because (1) there are so many different ingredient combinations and (2) the blender does all the work.  I do a combination of either vanilla soy or almond milk, always a banana and nut butter (PB, almond, or cashew), sometimes protein powder, and other add-ins include:  cocoa powder, chia seeds, ground flax, shredded coconut, frozen fruit, spinach, kale, etc.

And these are the killer Flax, Chia & Oatmeal Pancakes from last weekend.  I make all sorts of pancake recipes from banana pancakes to whole wheat chocolate chip, but these are a new favorite (recipe here!).

Lunches: 

I try to get greens in my lunch everyday.  This salad was from the Vegan Cafe by my work and it had kale, roasted beets, roasted sweet potatoes, green apple, and an agave mustard dressing.  I enjoyed it, but I could do without the beets.  

On this day I also had a whole wheat pita with garlic hummus about an hour earlier.

Another lunch making a big appearance this week is a salad made up of chard, spinach, kale and carrots with a miso ginger dressing and, again, a large dollop of garlic hummus with whole wheat pita bread.  It is just so simple and tasty.

 
And a third lunch from this week was a whole wheat pita stuffed with lots of avocado and tomato.  For me, sometimes the more basic the lunch, the better.  

 
And don't forget about dessert!  I never do.  Chocolate mint milkshake to get me through the afternoon.  In the dead of winter, I brave the cold for a vegan milkshake.  Totally worth it.

 Dinner:

My sister-in-law made a Curry Squash and Tofu dish for my birthday celebration last weekend and then left me with all the leftovers.  Hurray!  It's a glorious curry sauce made with lots of coconut milk and spices.  I dump a heaping pile of the squash, tofu and sauce over basmati rice.  
Other recent dinners include veggie chili, tempeh BLTs, cheddary broccoli soup, romaine salad with avocado and faux chicken strips, earth balance mac & cheese with kale, garlic tofu with mixed veggies (takeout), Chipotle...

Snacks:

I first tried these Fig Bars in my Vegan Cuts Box I order each month, but then I discovered them at my grocery store, Wegmans, and I'm hooked!  I have them every morning when I get to work.  I also like the plain fig bar flavor and my husband likes the blueberry.  They pair perfectly with a soy decaf latte that I get on the way to work when I have an extra few minutes.

I also eat several snacks during the day depending what I have on hand - nuts, chips, Larabar, Kind Bar, decaf soy latte (if I walk to Starbucks on lunch), oatmeal, granola... And I drink decaf tea all day long to keep warm and because I don't love just drinking plain water.

Sometimes a few hours after dinner I am hungry again so I have a banana with nut butter or a bowl of cereal.

Life is just better with delicious & nutritious food.

Agreed?

My Day of Food

Hi!

As promised, here is a typical food day for me.  I've put the approximate times of eating just so you think I'm a little extra nutty.

1st breakfast (6:15am) 

 rice krispies in almond milk with 1/2 sliced banana

kukicha tea

2nd breakfast (9:30am)

 

overnight oats (made with gluten-free quick oats, tbsp. chia seeds, tbsp. ground flax, tbsp. shredded coconut, tbsp. peanut butter, and about a cup of vanilla almond milk)

I made the oats around 7am and they were perfect by this time for eating!

herbal coffee - iced! (teeccino tea bag - check it out, it's so good!)

Snacks
 

A few dates - craving something sugary (11:30am and 3:30pm)

A cool lime refresher from Starbucks (they are so absolutely fantastic and it was 80 degrees out on my walk during lunch so it tasted even better!) (12:45pm)


Lunch (1:30pm)

Monster size salad made with romaine lettuce, apple, walnuts, raisins, mushrooms, and sesame ginger dressing
carrots and hummus

Dinner (6:00pm)

Sesame tofu with kale and sweet potatoes - my weekly favorite (as I'm sure you know)!

 

Note:  Supplements

I've been taking a vegan multi-vitamin everyday as well lately.  About twice a week, I take a B-complex vitamin.

 

 

So that's a typical food day during the work week.  Weekends are different.  For example, I had pancakes both mornings last weekend and I tend to go out to eat more on the weekends so that offers a whole other world of food yums.  But the work week is 5 days long here so that gives you a good idea of my food.

 

 

What's your favorite thing from my typical food day?  What's your favorite food this week?